Suchergebnisse

Cover -- Half Title -- Book Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Table of Contents -- Preface and acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1 The incidence of philosophy in Nigeria -- Prologue: the state of philosophy as morbid symptom -- (African) philosophy and its curriculum -- Notes -- References -- 2 The homo academicus Nigerianus -- Nigeria as postcolony -- The Nigerian university and its anomalies -- Note -- References -- 3 The Nigerian state encounters philosophy -- The imperative of development -- The humanities in development thinking -- The "philosophy" of Nigeria's national policy on education -- Philosophy for sale! Nigeria's rejection of (academic) philosophy -- Notes -- References -- 4 From Western epistemology to popular epistemologies -- Introduction -- Western epistemology and confused values -- "Becoming like you!" Decolonization and the performances of modernity -- Africanizing knowledge -- Notes -- References -- 5 Nigerian philosophy without Nigerians? Tradition, philosophy and plurality in Nigeria -- Introduction -- Plurality and philosophy education in Nigeria -- Plurality and philosophical tradition in Nigeria -- Notes -- References -- 6 The national character of philosophy -- Introduction -- The idea of national philosophy -- From the continental to the national: the demands of postcolonial philosophy -- The "big abstracts" and the idea of "Nigerian philosophy" -- Notes -- References -- 7 Philosophy and the idea of thinking -- Introduction -- A postcolonial Heidegger? Philosophy and the Global South -- Against perennial problems: thinking as philosophy and as wisdom -- Nigerian philosophy and wisdom -- Notes -- References -- 8 Bios theoretikos/bios politikos: Theory, practice and the challenges of a Nigerian tradition of philosophy -- Introduction -- The theory-practice problematic

Abstract
Knowledge and knowledge production play a significant role in the postcolonial project of de-traumatization and self-realization. However, such knowledge has often been couched within a Eurocentric epistemological framework. The postcolony is caught firmly within the orthodox which translates positivistic knowledge into the very definition of worldly progress—the idea of how a state attends to the welfare and well-being of its citizens through a development agenda. This essay engages the question: What might constitute an autonomous framework that could assist Africa and her thinkers and scholars in the development and validation of local forms of knowledge for social transformation? In this regard, I will examine the claims of Otto Neurath's postpositivism and the dynamic pluralism of the Ifá sacred corpus of the Yorùbá, both within the framework of the epistemology of the South project. Both of these epistemological frameworks outline a pluralistic understanding of knowledge that could enable the reconfiguring of knowledge production in Africa.

Beginning from Marx's understanding of the relationship between philosophy and reality, this Introduction to the special edition of the Yoruba Studies Review explores the inevitable but complex relationship that exists between philosophy and its place. Specifically, it is grounded on the urgency of interrogating Nigeria's postcolonial realities in the light of Yorùbá philosophical insights that, among other things, enable a rethinking of postcolonial social practices especially as sites of identity, agency, knowledge, objectivity, and even of resistance and power. Premised on the fundamental assumption that Yorùbá philosophy constitutes a fundamental site of scholarship within which the task of understanding and reinventing the Nigerian state and societies can be achieved, the Introduction weaves this assumption into the analysis of the fourteen essays that explores Nigeria's postcolonial realities ranging from overpopulation, public (im)morality, ethnic conflict, injustice, and democratic deficit to environmental degradation, disability, depersonalization, youth culture, and a glaring disconnection between educational theory and practice.

Let us begin with an unfortunate fact: Adébáyọ̀ Fálétí is one major writer that is hardly anthologized. The problem could not have been that he wrote in Yorùbá because Fágúnwà is far more anthologized than he is. Simon Gikandi's edited Encyclopedia of African Literature (2003) has an entry and other multiple references to Fágúnwà. There is only one reference to Fálétí which is found in the index without any accompanying instance in the work. In Irele and Gikandi's edited volumes, The Cambridge History of African and Caribbean Literature (2004), Fálétí only managed an appearance in the bibliography that featured four of his works—Wọn Rò Pé Wèrè Ni ́ (1965), Ọmọ Olókùn Ẹṣin (1969), Baṣòrun Gáà (1972) and Ìdààmú Páàdì Mínkáílù (1974). In the preface, Irele and Gikandi write: The scholarly interest in African orality also drew attention to the considerable body of literature in the African languages that had come into existence as a consequence of the reduction of these languages to writing, one of the enduring effects of Christian evangelization. The ancient tradition of Ethiopian literature in Ge'ez, and modern works like Thomas Mofolo's Shaka in the Sotho language, and the series of Yorùbá novels by D. O. Fágúnwà, were thus able finally to receive the consideration they deserved. African-language literatures came to be regarded as a distinct province of the general landscape of imaginative life and literary activity on the African continent (2004, xiii). Essays 60 Adeshina Afolayan In fact, the publication of Fágúnwà's Ògbójù Ọdẹ Nínú Igbó Ìrúnmalẹ (The ̀ Intrepid Hunter in the Forest of Spirits, 1938) made the chronology of literary events in Africa, and it misses out Fálétí's 1965 work. In her "Literature in Yorùbá: poetry and prose; traveling theater and modern drama," in the same volume, Karin Barber seems to redress this imbalance when she gives a place to Fálétí in her discussion of post-Fágúnwà writers. According to her, In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s there was an explosion of literary creativity, with many new authors emerging and pioneering new styles and themes. Among the most prominent were Adébáyọ Fálétí whose ̀ Ọmọ Olókùn Ẹṣin (1969) is a historical novel dealing with a revolt against the overlordship of Ọyọ, and Ọládèjọ Òkédìjí, author of two brilliantly innovative crime thrillers (Àjà ló lẹrù, 1969, and Àgbàlagbà Akàn, 1971), as well as a more somber tragic novel of the destruction of a young boy who is relentlessly drawn into a life of crime in the underworld of Ifẹ (Atótó Arére, 1981). Notable also are Akínwùnmí Ìsòlá, whose university campus novel Ó le kú (1974) broke new ground in social setting and ambience; Afọlábí Ọlábímtán, author of several novels, including Kékeré Ẹkùn (1967), which deals with the conflicts arising from early Christian conversion in a small village, and Baba Rere! (1978), a contemporary satire on a corrupt big man; and Kólá Akínlàdé, prolific author of well-crafted detective stories such as Ta ló pa Ọmọ Ọba? (Who Killed the Prince's Child?). These authors were all verbal stylists of a high order; they transformed the literary language, moving away from Fágúnwà's rolling cadences to a more demotic, supple prose that successfully caught the accents of everyday life (2004, 368). While it may be misplaced to draw a comparison between Fágúnwà and Fálétí, there is a sense in which Fálétí's demonstrates a more robust literary sensibility that goes beyond the allegorical into a realistic assessment of human relationship and sociality within the context of the Yorùbá cultural template. While Fágúnwà could not resist the influence of Christianity, and especially the allegorical motif of the journey in which humans encounter spiritual challenges (which John Bunyan's Pilgrim Progress made popular), Fálétí is fundamentally a cultural connoisseur; a writer with a most intimate and dynamic understanding of the Yorùbá condition, especially in its conjunction with the political and sociocultural contexts of contemporary Nigeria. And we have Ọlátúndé Ọlátúnjí to thank for the deep exploration and interrogation of the fundamental poetic and literary nuances that Fálétí has left for us. In this essay, I will attempt to unearth the philosophical sensibility that undergirds Fálétí's literary prowess, especially as demonstrated by his poems. Fálétí's Philosophical Sensibility 61 Both the poets and the philosophers have always had one thing in common— the exploration of the possibilities that ideas and visions yield: As theoretical disciplines concerned with raising social consciousness, philosophy and literature engage in similar speculation about the good society and what is good for humanity. They influence thoughts about political currents and conditions. They can, for instance, lead the reader to critical reflections on the type of leaders suitable for a given society and on the degree of civic consciousness exercised by the people in protecting their rights. Philosophy and literature, equally, offer critical evaluation of existing and possible forms of political arrangements, beliefs and practices. In addition, they provide insights into political concepts and justification for normative judgements about politics and society. They also create awareness of possibilities for change (Okolo 2007, 1). Compared to Ọlátúnjí's exploratory unraveling of Fálétí's poetry, my objective is to enlist Fálétí as a poet that has not been given his due as one who is sensitive to the requirements of political philosophy and its objective of ensuring the imagination of a society that is properly ordered according to the imperatives of justice.

Resignifying the Universal: Critical Commentary on the Postcolonial African Identity and Development
The dimension of the debate on the relation between the universal and the particular in African philosophy has been skewed in favour of the universalists who argued that the condition for the possibility of an African conception of philosophy cannot be achieved outside the "universal' idea of the philosophical enterprise. In this sense, the ethno-philosophical project and its attempt to rescue the idea of an African past necessary for the reconstruction of an African postcolonial identity and development becomes a futile one. A recent commentator even argues that works concerning African identity are now totally irrelevant and misguided. In this essay, I will be arguing, on the contrary, that the universalist's argument, much like its critique of ethno-philosophical reason, mistakes the nature, significance and necessity of such a resistance (rather than original) identity that the ethno-philosophical project promises. I will also argue that the fabrication of such an identity facilitates the avoidance of an uncritical submersion in the universal as well as a proper conception of an African development. This, furthermore, is the only avenue by which the imperialistic ontological space of universal humanism, in which most universalistic claims are rooted, can be made more polygonal and mutually beneficial for alternative cultural particulars.

Chapter One Introduction: Humanity and Disease Discourse -- Chapter Two Toward a Fuller Understanding of the Enigma of Health -- Chapter Three Ubuntu and COVID-19: A Philosophical Reflection -- Chapter Four Limits of Science-based Approaches in Global Health: Socio-Cultural and Moral Lessons from Ebola and Covid-19 -- Chapter Five The Vaccination Mandate Debate Revisited -- Part II: Critical Framing of the Pandemic in Africa -- Chapter Six An African Perspective on the Ethics and Politics of Foreign Medical Aid in a Pandemic -- Chapter Seven Disease Discourses, African Knowledge Systems, and COVID-19 in Senegal -- Chapter Eight Ẹnulẹbọ: Ethical Imperative of Yorùbá Thought on Eating for Covid-19 Related Crises -- Chapter Nine Epidemiology and an Epistemic Evaluation of the Management of Covid-19 in Nigeria -- Chapter Ten Borders, Boundaries and Identities: Navigating the Barriers to Solidarity and Cohesion in a Pandemic -- Chapter Eleven Discourses of the Wandering Almajiri Child as Representation of the (Post-) COVID Generation -- Chapter Twelve Quarantining the Holy Spirit: Africa and the Pentecostal Economy of COVID-19 Pandemic -- Chapter Thirteen On Pandemic Planning and the Front-line Workers in Nigeria -- Chapter Fourteen Dialogism and Polyphony in the Interpretations of COVID-19 Discourse in Zimbabwe -- Part III: Representing COVID-19 -- Chapter Fifteen Cartooning COVID on Facebook -- Chapter Sixteen "It's in Your hands": Communicating a Pandemic to a Disengaged Public -- Chapter Seventeen Musical (Re)presentations of COVID-19 on Social Media among Young People in Nigeria -- Chapter Eighteen Covid-19, Food and Freedom to Worship: An Analytic Approach to Nigeria's Religioscape -- Chapter Nineteen Covid-19 Risk Communication and Community Engagement on Social Media in Nigeria -- Chapter Twenty COVID-19 (Post)proverbials: Twisting the Word Against the Virus.

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Editors and Contributors -- List of Figures -- Chapter 1 Introduction: Rethinking African Philosophy in the Age of Globalization -- Prologue -- Is Philosophy Stagnant? The Idea of Progress in African Philosophy -- The Three Stages in the Evolution of African Philosophy -- The Handbook of African Philosophy -- References -- Part I Preliminaries and Reappraisals -- Chapter 2 African Philosophy: Appraisal of a Recurrent Problematic -- Part I: The Sources of Traditional African Philosophy -- Introduction -- African Philosophy -- Two Senses of Philosophy -- The Importance of Writing -- The Traditional and the Modern -- Part II: What Is African Philosophy, and Who Is an African Philosopher? -- The Most Important Question -- The Way I See It -- References -- Chapter 3 Archaeologies of African Thought in a Global Age -- Individuated Excursions -- Folk Knowledge -- Loss and Recognition -- The School of Wiredu and Its Detractors -- References -- Chapter 4 A Philosophical Re-reading of Fanon, Nkrumah, and Cabral in the Age of Globalization and Postmodernity -- Fanon and the AfricanBlack Self -- Kwame Nkrumah and the African Personality -- Cabral, the African Self, and the Autonomous African Socialist Path -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 5 Africanizing Philosophy: Wiredu, Hountondji, and Mudimbe -- Introduction -- Kwasi Wiredu -- Main Works -- Naturalism -- Epistemological Naturalism -- Moral Naturalism -- Wiredu's Philosophy of Mind -- Valentin Yves Mudimbe -- Paulin Hountondji -- References -- Chapter 6 Oruka and Sage Philosophy: New Insights in Sagacious Reasoning -- Introduction -- Recent Scholarship on Sage Philosophy -- References -- Chapter 7 Rethinking the History of African Philosophy -- Introduction -- Two Conceptions of African Philosophy -- Four Questions on African Philosophy

Introduction: Re-imagining the spaces of development, human rights, and citizenship / Adeshina Afolayan & Toyin Falola -- Empowering children and enlightening parents : an assessment of child protection education in rural Togo / Komi Begedou -- Historicizing child wage exploitation in Nigeria / Chukwuemeka Agbo -- Policing humanity : revisiting human rights and human trafficking in South Africa / Typhanie Hill -- A political economy of gender inequality in Esan society / Babatunde Agarah & Onoho-Omhen Ebhohimhen -- Pentecostal rhetoric and òrìṣà worship at Ile-Ife, Nigeria / Enoch O. Gbadegesin -- The logic of exclusion in Lagos and the imperative of cosmopolitan rights / Oladele Balogun & Ademola Fayemi -- Human rights in Africa : beyond social relativism / Temisanren Ebijuwa -- "Top up, pay as you go!" Mobile telephony and the internet revolutions in Sub-Saharan Africa / Bamidele Aly -- Economic growth and the Nigerian capital markets / Maryam Abdu -- Land use change and surface temperature in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria / Folasade Oderinde -- Is the UN's Force Intervention Brigade an effective peace enforcement model? Evidence from DR Congo / Brian O'Donnell

Intro -- Preface and Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Notes on Contributors -- List of Figures -- Chapter 1: Introduction: Alternative Epistemologies and the Imperative of an Afrocentric Mythology -- Introduction: On Colonial Knowledge -- The Fetish of Independence -- A Combative Mythology: The Imperative of Africanizing Knowledge -- Pathways to Alternative Epistemologies in Africa -- References -- Part I: Theories and Methodologies -- Chapter 2: Between Particularism and Universalism: The Promise of Epistemic Contextualism in African Epistemology -- Introduction -- Contextualism -- The Role of Default Entitled Beliefs -- References -- Chapter 3: The Quest for Africanizing Qualitative Inquiry: A Pathway to Methodological Innovation -- Introduction -- The Historicity of Research in Africa -- Conceptualizing Africanization and AIKS -- The Rationale for Africanizing Qualitative Inquiry -- Sources of AIKS -- Africanizing Qualitative Research -- The Researcher -- The Research Topic -- Thematizing the Study -- Gathering Qualitative Data -- Locating Participants and Language -- Data Analysis and Interpretation -- Reporting Research Findings -- Research Ethics -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 4: The State and the State of Knowledge Production in African Universities: Rethinking Identity and Curricula -- Introduction -- Neoliberal Philosophy and the Foundation of the Colonial State in Africa -- From Colonial to Postcolonial State: Issues in Knowledge Production in Africa -- Knowledge Production in Africa: Towards the Decolonisation of Identity and Curricula -- Conclusion -- References -- Chapter 5: Afrocentricity, African Agency and Knowledge System -- Introduction: The Twilight of Eurocentrism -- The Dawn of Afrocentricity -- Afrocentricity as Epistemology and Ontology -- Afrocentricity and Indigenous Knowledge -- Conclusion -- References.

1. Introduction: African Knowledges and Alternative Futures -- 2. Falolaist Cultural Brokerage and the Pan-African Agenda in Knowledge Production -- 3. African Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Legacy of Africa -- 4. Removing the Debris: Toyin Falola in the Reconstruction of Knowledge Production on Africa -- 5. The Academic and the Crisis of Knowledge Production and Dissemination in Africa -- 6. The Intelligentsia and the Crisis of Knowledge Production and Development in Nigeria -- 7. Pan-African Doctoral Schools and Knowledge Production in Africa: Experiences, Issues, and Testimonials of Participants -- 8. Re-Empowering African Indigenous Peace-making Approaches: Identifying the Enabling Possibilities from Decolonization and Indigenization Discourses -- 9. Back to the Future: Rethinking Alternatives to External Intervention in African Conflicts -- 10. Beyond Western Medicine (Drugs): Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Ola Rotimi's The Gods Are Not to Blame and James Henshaw's This Is Our Chance -- 11. The Indigenous Knowledge of Law in Pre-Colonial Akwa-Ibom Area: A Comparative Study of the Similarities and Differences between the English and the African Legal System -- 12. The Resilience of Ondo Indigenous Adjudicatory Institutions 1915-1957 -- 13. Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Food Security in the History of Hausaland: An Examination of Food Preservation and Storage Practices -- 14. Understanding Igede Indigenous Knowledge Systems and the Future of Igede Cultural Heritage in Benue State, Nigeria -- 15. Yorùbá Traditional and Contemporary Cultural Perspectives on Homosexuality: Questions of Human and Minority Rights -- 16. Recognising the Value of the African Indigenous Knowledge System: The Case of Ubuntu and Restorative Justice.